Washington Area Bike Forum

Air Force cycling classic and Baltimore Sailabration (Blue Angels and tall ships)

Greenbelt — Sat, 19 May 2012 02:50:25 GMT

We're thinking about doing two longer shop rides in June.

First, I'd like to do a ride down to the Air Force cycling classic, probably on June 9 for the Clarendon Cup. Any suggestions for the best places to watch? We'd probably leave College Park at about 10am, and arrive in Arlington about 11:20 or 11:30. Head back to Maryland after lunch and some race spectating. That's about a 40-mile round trip, and we'd take a pretty relaxed pace. Route would be on Anacostia trails, through NE DC, on Met Branch trail, and over the 14th street bridge to VA.

Here is the website for the Air Force races: http://www.airforcecyclingclassic.com/

Second, I'd like to go up to Baltimore on Saturday June 16 to check out the tall ships and the Blue Angels over the inner harbor/fells point, part of the 200yr anniversary of the War of 1812 festivities. Again, probably leave the shop at about 10am, get lunch and check out the inner harbor, and head back around 3 or 4pm. It's a 2.5 hour ride at a moderately brisk pace, closer to 3 hours at a relaxed pace, about 32 miles each way -- 65 miles round trip. Route would be this, which I thought was a really nice ride.

Here's the website for the Baltimore "sailabration": http://www.starspangled200.com/

Anybody interested, just follow this thread -- I'll post some updates as we get into June. For now, save the dates if you want to go! -Jeff

Bad timing

creadinger — Sat, 19 May 2012 00:54:49 GMT

I was riding down the W&OD today, and got to the intersection with S. George Mason Dr around 5:30 I think. There was 3 seconds left on the cross-walk timer so I continued to cross at speed, knowing I'd be on the other side be the time the light switched. Halfway across the intersection the cars heading north on GM Dr. start to go. I yelled at one guy (which I now feel bad about because....) another cyclist came through the intersection right behind me and he said that the cars started to go because they got a green light! We still had 2 seconds on the cross-walk timer and they got a green light. What the hell?! Is it mis-timed? Does someone need to know about that dangerous situation? We almost got flattened today because of it.

But Wait! It's not over yet!

Dirt — Fri, 18 May 2012 19:37:33 GMT

Don't forget about BHFWD (Bike Home From Work Day) which starts uhhhhh.... NOw. :D

Falls Church Pit Stop (Grove and the W&OD) is having festivities until 7pm. :D

Rumor had it that Tri360 might be doing something near the location of their soon to be open shop on N. Westmorland Street, near where we had Happy Hour at Chasin' Tails. Don't have much info on that, but I'm headed that direction to see what is hapnin!

Rock on folks. I have to say this again.... I love y'all for riding. You feed my soul!

Hugs and kisses,

Pete

In News from the Younger Generation

eminva — Fri, 18 May 2012 19:34:14 GMT

The five elementary schools in Vienna, Virginia had a Bike/Walk to School Challenge all week. Today over 50% of the elementary school students in Vienna either biked or walked to school! See coverage here. You can click on the links in the article to see further stats.

Liz

Bike Maryland (Baltimore) rides and BikeJam this Sunday!

KLizotte — Fri, 18 May 2012 17:55:57 GMT

http://bikemd.org/page.php?id=472
http://www.bikejam.org/

Bicycle Tour Event Date: Sunday, May 20th at 8:00 AM; start and finish at the incredibly exciting BikeJam event in Patterson Park, Baltimore!

REGISTER NOW - receive a free t-shirt!

Two great RecRide bicycle tours give you a close-up view of beautiful Charm City on May 20th.

The Lolly Pop Ride: 12 Miles Flat with a few rollers! Travels past the community gardens, farmer's market, on the Fallsway and the new Guilford Avenue bike lanes, continues along the Jones Falls into the Clipper Mill neighborhood and then into Druid Hill Park (rest stop with refreshments), along the zoo periphery, around the lake and back to Patterson Park for the celebration!

The Parks Ride: 30 miles Rolling with hills! This route takes you on a lovely tour of Baltimore's beautiful parks before returning to BikeJam at Patterson Park. Includes Druid Hill Park rest stop for refreshments.

Enjoy a rest stop at Druid Hill park with refreshments and then join the celebration at the end of the RecRide. Stay in Patterson Park and watch the super-fast BikeJam pro bicycle races. Enjoy food vendors, beer, kid's activities, live music and the Bike and Health Expo.

Please complete a registration form separately for each person you would like to register - we do not have a group registration option this year.

Registration fees and deadlines: Early bird registration $34 to May 18th. Student rate $16. Day of event registration $38.
Limited to 500 cyclists!

Riding with headphones - yay or nay?

Veik — Fri, 18 May 2012 17:38:34 GMT

What say you?
Saw a number of folks today with earbuds at various Bike to Workday stops.

Do YOU do it? :-)
A new trend?

Fixies

mrkenny83 — Fri, 18 May 2012 17:31:35 GMT

I just read an article that tried to explain Fixies to me....

I understand there's a culture of fixie-lovers, but I'm not yet understanding what draws them in. A bike with no gears, and possibly no brakes? That sounds EXHAUSING and TERRIFYING!!!!

What am I not understanding? Dirt? Anyone?

Any park and ride suggestions from PG County?

newrider — Fri, 18 May 2012 17:14:54 GMT

I know, the title probably made some folks think "why park and ride, just leave your car at home." The short answer is that I live too far outside of D.C. Specifically, I live in the town of Upper Marlboro in PG County, which is about 7 miles outside the Beltway where Route 4 meets Route 301. On my best day I couldn't ride the entire way and home again. Regardless, everyday I either pick up or drop off my daughter at her school, which is just inside the beltway in New Carrollton, about 1 mile from the New Carrollton Metro (the end of the orange line). Please don't suggest that I strap her onto my bike at home; it's just too far. I'd like to either (a) leave my car at her school and bike from there once or twice a week; or (b) park somewhere between New Carrollton and downtown and bike the remaining way. I can�t seem to find a relatively safe way to bike from New Carrollton (I think we can all agree that PG County doesn�t care much about accommodating bike riders). If there was anyway to park near a CaBi station, I'd love it, but I imagine that's hoping for too much. I've wondered whether I could park and ride from RFK or some other nearby location. Any ideas or thoughts will be very appreciated.

Bike to Work Day Pictures

Greenbelt — Fri, 18 May 2012 16:26:34 GMT

FCC Blog Post

rcannon100 — Fri, 18 May 2012 14:15:40 GMT

When you have support from top management, good things happen. The management at the FCC have been fantastic. The FCC posted the following on its blog today, and has been tweeting this.

http://www.fcc.gov/blog/bike-work-day

Bike to Work Day
by: David Robbins, Managing Director
May 17th, 2012

The FCC�s growing community of cyclists has much to celebrate and be congratulated for as bicycling enthusiasts across the country mark National Bike Month.

Community events around the country have so far included Bike to School Day and Bike to Work Week, culminating today in Bike to Work Day. Here at the Commission, they have also included two distinct honors.

On Wednesday, the Interagency Task Force for Bicycles and Active Transportation, created to implement President Obama�s executive order to promote a clean energy economy, named the FCC as the recipient of its first-ever Fedbikes Award. The award recognizes excellence in support for federal agency bicycle commuting.

And in April, the national League of American Bicyclists named the FCC as one of 67 new Bicycle Friendly Businesses. With its bronze-level certification, the Commission joins more than 400 local businesses, government agencies and Fortune 500 companies nationwide that are �transforming the American workplace� by supporting bicycle commuting, the League said.

The recognition is a credit to an FCC cyclist community that works passionately, and with strong support from Chairman Genachowski and Commission leadership, to promote and support bicycle commuting throughout the agency. Among the many accomplishments to date:

Expanded and secure parking for 58 bikes in our secure employee garage.
Free long-term lockers near the new bike racks.
Shower facilities with day lockers for an annual membership fee.
A repair station with air pumps.
A mentor program for new riders.
A guaranteed ride-home program.
Promotion and education efforts, including an active cyclists email group, bulletin boards and a wiki.

We are pleased to see the hard work of our cyclists and building managers being recognized, and proud of their strong commitment to the health and well being of our employees and the local environment.

First Bike to Work Day

MRH5028 — Fri, 18 May 2012 12:25:36 GMT

I live only a mile from my office so I normally walk to work. I'm an avid cyclist, but always seemed too close to work to make biking "worth it" (weird I know). I gave it a shot today, being Bike to Work Day and whatnot, and I may end up doing it more often.

I hit the Ballston stop around 7:15, grabbed my shirt and some other swag, and set off for work. There was a decent crowd already, along with a dancing chick-fil-a cow, can't beat that. Saw plenty of other commuters riding through Clarendon as I was locking my bike up outside my building.

Any other first time Bike to Work Day / Bike Commuters out there?

Forum Makes Washington Post column

eminva — Fri, 18 May 2012 02:32:39 GMT

Insert perfunctory cars vs. bikes column here. See about 3/4 of the way down the first page.

Too bad she didn't stumble onto one of the threads with Dirt's philosophy of loving and respecting all mankind.

Liz

South Joyce Street improvements

PotomacCyclist — Thu, 17 May 2012 20:38:34 GMT

The section of S. Joyce Street running under the spaghetti tree of 395 and Washington Blvd. is being upgraded with wider sidewalks, new pavement and better lighting. This should help those who ride between Columbia Pike and Pentagon City/Crystal City. The slight uphill climb from Pentagon City makes it a little difficult to maintain speed while heading up Joyce St. while the cars speed past. (I don't think any drivers obey the speed limit on that section of the road.) According to the plan I read online, work crews will build 13-ft. wide sidewalks on both sides of S. Joyce. The current sidewalk is much narrower and the lighting is nonexistent. The improvements will also assist pedestrians in that area. I'm not sure how they will fit 13-ft. sidewalks on both sides of the road without taking out a traffic lane, but I think that is supposed to be the plan.

Eventually Columbia Pike will be rerouted. Instead of turning to the north (as you head east), Columbia Pike will be straightened out, going through what is currently a large parking lot. The section north of the new Columbia Pike will become part of Arlington National Cemetery. (The Navy Annex is scheduled to be demolished, beginning as soon as this month.) Columbia Pike will intersect with Joyce St. just north of 395. But the Columbia Pike rebuild is not part of the immediate S. Joyce St. project.

http://g.co/maps/qqwrm

https://www.fbo.gov/index?s=opportun...=core&_cview=1

Portions of the road and sidewalk have now been closed off so that construction can get underway. I don't have any idea when the project is scheduled to be completed. It's difficult to find info about this online. Since they aren't rebuilding any of the overpasses, I hope the time frame is relatively short.

How many afternoon pit stops are there?

PotomacCyclist — Thu, 17 May 2012 20:18:32 GMT

I read about the one on the W&OD, at Washington Blvd and Lee Highway. Any others?

Best way from Reston (Town Center W&OD Access) to Downtown DC

runnergirl92 — Thu, 17 May 2012 19:57:10 GMT

I am thinking of parking at the RTC park and ride and taking the W&OD trail into DC tomorrow. I need to be able to take the bus home (JIC due to a T-ball game), but want to know if it's better to take the Custis Trail (bordering 66) or the Four Mile Run to MVT in to DC.

Which might be easier for a commute?

Thanks!!!